The moment Connor Hellebuyck was traded by Winnipeg to New Jersey back on Friday, October 23rd, the date of Tuesday, November 10th was circled on plenty of calendars. That, of course, was when the three-time Vezina winner would make his first return to Winnipeg as a member of a visiting team. The assumption since the trade was that he’d be starting in goal for the Devils.
GM Sunny Mehta tossed cold water on that Sunday night when the team released a statement announcing Hellebuyck would not be playing because he “would potentially give us a reduction in our expected win probability”. Considering the Hart Trophy-winning netminder is 5-0-0 since joining his new club, including a shutout that night, that’s one hell of a line.
As expected, the announcement set off a chain reaction across the NHL, with the Devils facing widespread criticism for their handling of the situation. Hellebuyck is expected to speak following his team’s morning skate, and we’ll carry his media availability live here.
Of course, there is also a hockey game with two points on the line to consider. The Jets come into this contest having won three straight games as they look to put the stink of their nine-game losing streak well behind them and continue their climb back up the standings. They could also be getting a significant boost with the return of Josh Morrissey, who has been out for over a month. The top-pairing defenceman continues to inch closer to making his return to the lineup.
It won’t be easy, as Connor Hellebuyck isn’t the only one enjoying success in New Jersey. The Devils come into tonight’s game riding a five-game winning streak and have been one of the hottest teams in the NHL, going 9-1-0 over their last ten games.
Skate news:
Starts at 10:30 AM
Warm-up skate:
Starts at 6:30 PM. Normally, this isn’t something we’d focus on unless the Jets didn’t have a morning skate or there was a lineup question mark heading into the game. But today is a little different. With Connor Hellebuyck not getting the start for New Jersey, the pre-game warm-up may be the only opportunity Jets fans have to see their former netminder on the ice, and the only chance they’ll have to let the Michigan product know how they feel about his departure. Something tells me this could be the best-attended warm-up skate in Winnipeg Jets history.
Jets projected lines & D pairs:
Connor – Scheifele – Vilardi
Perfetti – Yager – Mercer
Björck – Lowry – Iafallo
Koepke – Barron – Rosén
Morrissey – DeMelo
Samberg – Pionk
Ferraro – Bauer
Daws
Devils projected lines & D pairs:
Gritsyuk – Hughes – Bratt
Meier – Hischier – Evangelista
Lombardi – Rodrigues – Boqvist
Glass – Brown
Hughes – Pesce
Siegenthaler – Hamilton
Chisholm – Kovacevic
Dillon
Allen
Players media availability:
To follow.
Coach media availability:
To follow.
Odds:
The Jets have started to find their footing after a difficult stretch, winning three straight games to give themselves some much-needed momentum. They’ll need to be at their best tonight against a New Jersey team that has been rolling of late, winning nine of its last ten games. The Devils have been one of the NHL’s hottest teams, and even without Winnipeg’s former netminder between the pipes, they’ll present a significant challenge for a Jets club looking to continue its climb back up the standings. For the latest Winnipeg Jets hockey odds, visit NHL betting site Betway.
Up Next:
Join us for the Daily Dose of Illegal Curve Hockey at 3 PM CDT on our YouTube channel as we get you set for tonight’s action. Puck drop is at 7 PM CDT. Be sure to head over to illegalcurve.com following the game for a recap of the action. You can join us on our YouTube channel for the Illegal Curve Post-Game Show around 9:40 PM CDT as we discuss and analyze the results of the game.
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